Ooh, it's been a while since we've done one of these, hasn't it? Well, we've all had life updates, I'm sure, so let's get to it! (I'm only doing five, since I've done one or two of these in the past.)

1. I've been published in an actual gaming magazine

Remember when you could actually pick up a magazine made of paper, instead of reading it online? Well, I've recently been doing some writing for Pure Nintendo Magazine, and one of my articles got printed in the actual, physical publication. As a mass communication major and writer, this is still the coolest thing that's happened to me in a while. I'm pissed that the editor used an old copy of the story, though, with some grammatical errors; you can't exactly fix something like that after it's been printed.

2. While I constantly talk about how I hate DRM, I love Steam

Want to know a secret about Steam? It's not actually DRM. Steam's CEG component is its consumer-locking DRM system, and it's completely optional when publishing a game to the platform.

The key word there is "platform." As a platform, I love Steam, and I only WISH consoles could do all the things it does. There are plenty of games that use Steam only as a delivery service, and I'll gladly take those PC versions over console versions any day of the week. I just wish developers/publishers, Valve included, respected their customers enough to know how to use Steam and how to not use it; it's not like Steam's DRM actually slows piracy down or anything, anyway.

3. I can't stand touchscreens

See that picture? That's a picture of my phone, and I love it.

I'm typing this blog on my girlfriend's Kindle Fire right now, and my God. I don't care what the future of gaming has in store, physical buttons will ALWAYS be better than anything that has to do with touch sensitivity. The feedback you get from actually feeling the movement of buttons, a joystick, or a mouse under your finders/hand will never, ever be accurately emulated by merely touching a flat surface. The occasional touch feature in 3DS games and the like are fine, but as a main method of control, no thanks; I generally won't even play an Android game without a controller.

4. I'm very interested in the future of the Xbox One

So, here's a fact-within-a-fact: I think the Xbox 360 is close to being the most perfect gaming machine we've ever gotten. While the later exclusives weren't all that impressive, the system-level features were astounding, and every day, I wish the PS3 (and PS4, for that matter) can do what the 360 can.

With the promotion of Phil Spencer as the head of the Xbox brand, I think we can expect the amazing OS features of the 360 plus a healthy list of exclusives down the line. Yes, I think the price needs an adjustment, and I think we'll get one soon. But for now, I'm hopeful. I just sometimes miss the old-timey Destructoid community that was more tolerant of differing opinions; it seems like every time an Xbox-related story or comment comes up, the bashing ensues without ado.

5. I think the keyboard is one of the worst game controllers ever

A keyboard is good for three video game genres: MMO, RTS, and Surgeon Simulator. For everything else, WASD is a horrendous d-pad that requires three fingers to operate and is used to navigate a 3D space. My PC controller of choice? Mouse+PS Move navigation controller. Yes, I'm dead serious.

The nav controller replaces the separate keyboard keys for movement, giving me a complete 360-degree movement system using just the joystick with only one thumb, while maintaining the precision aiming/cursor movement of the mouse. I've actually tried to go back to the keyboard for games like Half-Life 2 and Metro 2033, and I just can't. And don't even get me started on the original Thief games, which are carpal tunnel sources if you use the keyboard with their three million movement keys.

About pedrovay2003One of us since 2:15 PM on 11.14.2006

Name: Peter
Home State: New York
Currently Residing In: Utah
Birthday: October 13th, 1985 (I'll always secretly consider the NES to have been a five-day late birthday present to me from Nintendo.)
Degree: Communication (with a writing emphasis)

I'm a Mass Communication/Journalism graduate from the University of Utah, which I'm starting to question, since it was a tough field to get into even before the economy went down the toilet. I love writing; Not only do I consider it my passion, but I also believe it's an invaluable skill for this socially-connected age in which we live. Writing about video games brings me more joy than I can even describe in words, which is saying a lot, considering.

As far as video games go, I've been a gamer since I was two-and-a-half. I try to play whatever interests me, despite what other people think of those games. I suppose I consider myself to be "obsessed" with gaming, but not in the sense that all I want to do is beat games. I'm fascinated with the industry as a whole, and in some way, shape or form, I'd love to be a part of it professionally someday.